The Religion of the Peacock Angel

The Yezidis and Their Spirit World

Garnik S. Asatrian, Victoria Arakelova

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English

Acumen Publishing Ltd
28 February 2014

Humanities

Series: Gnostica

Based in Iraq, Syria and Turkey, the Yezidi people claim their religion - a unique combination of Christian, Islamic, and historical faiths - to be the oldest in the world. Yezidi identity centres on their religion, Sharfadin, which has evolved into a highly complex pantheon of one God with many incarnations, the chief of whom is Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel.

The Yezidi faith can be traced to a range of pre-Islamic belief systems, such as Sufism, some extreme Shi'ite sects, Gnosticism and other traditions surviving from the ancient world. This particular formulation has served to unify Yezidi religious identity and ethnicity.

Based on extensive fieldwork, The Religion of the Peacock Angel presents the first detailed examination of the Yezidi pantheon. The idea of one God and his chief incarnations is first analysed, then the various 'deity figures,' saints, holy patrons and divinized personalities in the Yezidi belief system are considered in the context of related religious traditions. The study determines the place of all these characters in the system of the Yezidi faith, defining their main functions, features, and genealogies.

By: Garnik S. Asatrian, Victoria Arakelova
Imprint: Acumen Publishing Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 408g
ISBN: 9781844657612
ISBN 10: 1844657612
Series: Gnostica
Pages: 168
Publication Date: 28 February 2014
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Primary , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction Part 1: The One God 1. Malak-Tawus: The Leader of the Holy Triad 2. Sheikh 'Adi 3. Sultan Ezid Part 2: The Yezidis' Pantheon and the Syncretic Features of their Religion 4. The Yezidi Minor Deities, Saints and Holy men 5. Aspects of Nature and Celestial Bodies in Yezidi Tradition 6. Yezidi Religious Syncretism Conclusion. Index

Garnik S. Asatrian is Chair of the Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, Armenia. He is author of many books, most recently The Etymological Dictionary of Persian. Victoria Arakelova is Associate Professor in the Department of Iranian Studies, Yerevan State University, Armenia. She is co-author, with Garnik Asatrian, of The Ethnic Minorities of Armenia.

Reviews for The Religion of the Peacock Angel: The Yezidis and Their Spirit World

A new, authoritative, and much-needed account of the religion of a little known, much-misunderstood Middle Eastern religious group, the Yezidis. The analysis of this fascinating faith and its intricate syncretism (which includes Gnosticism and heretical Islam) presents a very important contribution to the study of comparative religion. - Martin Schwartz, University of California at Berkeley The first scholarly attempt to offer a complete account of Yezidi beliefs in all kind of spiritual beings. This comparative study of heterodox Islam and its derivatives, as well as many other 'heresies' of the region, reveals a series of parallels that will prove of great benefit to scholars interested in the comparative history of the world religions. - Adriano V. Rossi, Oriental University of Naples